I Sit by Your Window
by remnantsofsanity
Summary: It was a mistake; that was really all there was to it. Once Shikamaru misguidedly followed Temari back to her estate, he is brought to a whole new side of his masculinity that he does not completely understand. R&R please! It's good I promise!
1. Part One: Instances I

I Sit by Your Window

Summary: It was a mistake; that was really all there was to it. Once Shikamaru misguidedly followed Temari back to her estate, he is brought to a whole new side of his masculinity that he does not completely understand.

_He wanted her; she'd never tell._

_Secretly she wanted him as well._

.:.

* * *

He watched her remove her ebony yukata and slip into a thinner, softer night dress. His gaze followed her hands as they played with the kunai next to her pillow. He blinked as she whispered words to the weapon before scoffing and closing her eyes.

The man by the balcony grimaced as the blinds on her window suddenly close, nearly knocking him off of the tree he crouched on. A sigh escaped his lips as he continued to stare at her window, images of her dozing off to sleep still haunting his consciousness. There was nothing he could do to keep himself from coming back every night, from watching her undress and slip into her nightgown. Nothing to stop him from scowling every time the window magically slams or the blinds marvelously shut close.

He felt sick to the stomach by his own actions. What was he now, some peeping tom? A slight shake of the head and he was on his way.

'_It was a routine feat,'_ he told himself every time he would depart to his temporary apartment. He would be back in Konoha in a week's notice.

'_It was a mistake and it would never happen again.'_

He said that, but he knew he was sprouting complete bull shit.

Nara Shikamaru would return like he always did.

* * *

**01:**

There were two things that annoyed Shikamaru more than anything in the world. The first was nagging women. He had his share of blabbering females that had mouths like leaky faucets, always running and oh so difficult to clog!

Being the son of a Jonin and a stay-at-home mom granted those types of situations. His dad was seldom home due to missions and such, making his mother a _very_ lonely and needy woman. Which was where said son came into the picture.

Naturally, Shikamaru became the substitute, his mother's personal and dispensable company.

'_The agony,'_ he mentally groaned.

The second and more irritating thing (at least by Shikamaru standards) was a rainy day.

Not that he enjoyed sunny days; it was just that the former were so much more _troublesome._

Imagine! The lack of sun usually made him stub his toe on passing anthills and cracks. He especially loathed the dark storm clouds that seemed to block his white cumulus puffs (1).

Shikamaru paced the dust-filled marketplace when he was brought to a stop. Olive vest collided with black cotton sleeves.

"Oh, there you are."

He turned to glance at smug navy blue eyes. Spiky blond hair trapped in four childish pigtails complemented her dark robe. Yet one thing was for certain. Temari was nothing like a child.

Shikamaru sighed as his gaze cornered in at the woman's lips. He found himself mesmerized by the way she formed her words, how the two soft pieces of pink flesh pursed together to shape vowels. _Ooh _he saw her lips make. _Ooh._

She rambled on about something only a woman would drone on about (2). The time it took to locate his lazy ass? Or, perhaps it was about the weather? Shikamaru could only laugh inwardly at his second guess.

"You're not listening to me," scowled Temari. Then, almost as quick as a certain hyperactive blond back in Konoha could inhale his ramen, her frown morphed into a smirk.

"Or, are you just too busy staring at my beautiful face?"

"What's there to look at?" countered an annoyed and slightly panicked Shikamaru. _'Had she seen…?'_

Anger and bewilderment flashed across her features.

"_Nothing_ to _look at!_ I'll have you know…" And on continued her irrelevant chattering. Shikamaru could hardly keep coherent thoughts as he walked with her, two dusky orbs transfixed on her curvy, womanly form. He mentally smacked himself while he brought a slightly calloused hand up to relieve a small but growing headache.

'_This is going to be a _long_ day.'_

* * *

The two strolled over to Suna's Kage complex. Shikamaru was careful not to piss his partner off while trying hard not to look like a lecherous pervert. The usually calm and collected shadow manipulator was having troubles fighting off wanton thoughts.

Temari reached for the door as he followed suit; they entered the building.

Not long afterwards, they exited through the same doors, Temari gloating about her kick ass raise albeit Shikamaru's headache grew. Her last bits about her brother Kankuro's latest romantic failure finally caused him to snap.

"Can you stop?" he hissed sharply.

A glimmer of hurt surfaced in her eyes before quickly hardening. Hurt twisted into a need to hurt.

"Ok, what's with it to you? Ever since you came here you've been shooting me the evil eye!" _'Is that what you'd call it?' _Wondered a faintly amused Shikamaru.

"You keep ignoring me and tuning me out. I thought after the chuunin exams…" She glanced to see a lazy brunet with his eyes closed.

"See! You're _still_ not listening! I oughta –." He placed a hand on her shoulder. Blue-gray met dusty brown. Shikamaru sighed.

"..Sorry," he mumbled.

Her look of displeasure was replaced by a softer, more understanding emotion. Well scratch that, she didn't _really_ understand, but who's to judge?

They continued their little morning saunter until a messenger hawk plummeted from the sky, a parchment urging the return of the shadow manipulator strung on its leg.

.:.

(1) Cumulous clouds

(2) I didn't mean that as a sexist comment. I'm female myself (:

I'm hoping for any critique on my writting style (There's supposed to be a slow but rich romance between the two). The next chapter would be better and more interesting. Think of this as a prologue. Reviews are also appreciated!


	2. Part One: Instances II

I Sit by Your Window

Summary: It was a mistake; that was really all there was to it. Once Shikamaru misguidedly followed Temari back to her estate, nothing was to be the same.

_Just so you know our favorite Nara is fourteen in this fic, making Temari at the tender age of seventeen. It starts a year before Naruto's return to Konoha, so the remaining members of team Asuma are still genin._

_Well, on with the story!_

.:.

Extending his arm, Shikamaru slowly reached for the living mobile mailbox. With slight curiosity etched on his features, he snatched the letter tied to the hawk's legs; it departed with a flap of wings.

Temari's eyes shuddered unintentionally while he thumbed through the thin piece of parchment. It almost seemed like he was rereading the text, eyes rolling left to right, eyes narrowing at unwanted information. This action continued until he suddenly crumbled the poor letter. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes.

"I'm to return to Konoha earlier than expected." A second soft sigh escaped from his lips.

"_How troublesome…"_ he murmured.

He stood there, rubbing at his eyelids as if he was waiting for something. A moment passed and he realized he did not know _what_ it was that he was waiting _for_. Shikamaru's arm fell to his side and he turned to leave.

"Wait,"

He instantly stopped in his tracks, head rotating faintly.

"I guess this is goodbye."

The corners of the boy's mouth tilted down, almost like a frown. He revolved his body to face Temari.

For a moment, she thought time stopped. He looked at her, no_ gazed_ into her eyes before…snorting. Well, _that_ certainly brought her back into her senses.

"You're silly," he breathed. His left hand rose gradually (to cup her face?) to scratch his neck, only to be clutched into a fist. He slowly brought it back by his side.

"There will be more diplomatic missions." Something flashed in his eyes before settling down. With a cough, Shikamaru returned to where he stood before and began to walk.

Slowly, the older teen trailed behind the younger man, several thoughts seeming to roll into her pretty blond head while she studied her target. Stuff like _'what was I thinking?' _continued to rerun in her mind like music from a broken record player.

When they finally reached the outskirts of the village, he turned around with a small smile on his lips. She was taken back by his sudden uncharacteristic act before breaking into a smile as well. Temari could have sworn a light shade of pink flickered across his usually tan skin.

He coughed again, this time into his shoulder, this time to signify his departure before walking out of Suna's borders. Temari could only watch as his retreating form became a silhouette in the sunset, his body now just a bit more than a speckle of dust in the distance.

A low rumble of thunder suddenly echoed among the sand.

.:.

* * *

**02:**

Nara Shikamaru had barely closed his eyes when a loud crackle rang from outside of his apartment. Yes, it rained often in the village hidden in the leaves but he had hoped that Mother Nature would spare him after days of traveling in hot, itchy sand.

A bright light zigzagged across the sky, bright enough to be seen through his tightly shut blinds. He grabbed at his pillow and squeezed it in between both sides of his face before the rain finally fell. Bit by bit, a muffled groan escaped from his lips while he tried to doze off into slumber. It was hard enough as it was, not being able to see her chest heave up and down as she slept, not being able to see her slip out of her dark, dark robes…

'_Stop it!' _He mentally screamed.

'_Stop it with these stupid thoughts!'_

There was no chance she would ever look at him the way he was starting to look at her. Hell, she was three years his senior! He ought to quit having the hots for older women!

Shikamaru rolled over in his bed before squeezing his eyelids even tighter together.

He _seriously_ needed an aspirin.

* * *

It was common knowledge that Konoha's Godaime never liked tardiness. Whether it was sticking around for the morning paper or when certain _people_ not worthy to mention (cough, Jiraiya, cough) took an insensitive amount of time in the restroom, this blond haired woman hated having to wait.

Nevertheless, Tsunade sat with her legs crossed, tapping her teacup with a carefully manicured finger. The noise that erupted from nail meeting white porcelain disturbed the hokage's assistant considerably. Silently, Shizune pressed her lips together tightly as her stare focused on the Godaime's face. Said blonde was definitely not happy.

With a puff of smoke, Shikamaru finally arrived. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, dark enough to almost rival those of Gaara. He crouched down on one knee, his head nearly parallel to the hard wood floor.

"You're late." Growled the hokage.

"I am sorry, Hokage-sama."

A tense silence ricocheted across the walls before the sound of splitting china filled the room.

Shizune's eyes widened as she replaced the now demolished teacup with another and filled it with tea. Tsunade merely took a sip from the cup like she didn't just crush the last one into sand moments ago. She took another drink before setting the cup back on her desk.

"I'll admit it; I'm a little bit annoyed." She drank another sip.

"But please, go on." The hokage waved her right hand in the air nonchalantly as she sniffed the herbal vapors.

With that, Shikamaru tilted his head up a bit before announcing the details of his mission.

"I left for Suna with the sand nin Temari just like you asked me to." He paused to collect his thoughts.

"We arrived at Suna earlier than we expected. It…ah…there were a few meetings and simple missions."

Tsunade waited for him to finish.

He blinked and took a deep breath.

"That is all."

The hokage's assistant watched for any change in the composure of the powerful blond haired woman.

She, however, continued to inhale the scented steam as if it was an undiscovered anti-aging serum.

"Well, that's just completely boring isn't it?" Shikamaru sucked in air like a drowning monkey.

"..Yeah."

"You may leave." Tsunade waved him off, her eyes still fixed on the bits of brown tea leaves floating in her tea.

"But…I expect a full report _tomorrow_." There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Shikamaru nodded and turned to leave. As his fingers encircled the doorknob, the hokage cleared her throat. He turned around to see the woman touching her face, her long fingers skimming the skin around her eyes.

"You have a little…"

His cheeks burned while he nodded.

"I…couldn't sleep."

Tsunade just smirked knowingly before waving him off for the second time.

* * *

The streets of Konoha were peculiar things to say so the least. Like twisting serpents, roads seem to start from nowhere and end in front of ridiculous spots, such as the bases of mountains. Sometimes, paths ended right in front of each other, confusing small game like rabbits to run _literally_ in circles all day long.

Shikamaru was beginning to suspect this when he walked past the Yamanaka flower shop twice in a row. With nothing to do (apart from writing an _extremely_ long mission report), he strolled into the store.

He heard a slight clinking of bells when he shot his gaze at the door. There were actually bells hung on a hook nailed to the door, and he nearly chuckled at the sight.

"Welcome to Yamanaka flower shop!" hummed a familiar voice.

"We have all types of flowers and plants for any occasions! Our selections are – oh!" Shikamaru turned to see his old teammate Ino in an apron. They stared at each other for a bit until the brunet cleared his throat.

"Hey Ino."

The blonde grinned and gave him a poke in the ribs.

"Hey Shikamaru! I didn't know you liked _flowers_!" She eyed him with mock suspicion.

"Or, are you looking for something for a…_girl_?" she sang.

Shikamaru stared at his blond haired friend in disbelief. Then, a sudden idea struck him.

"Yea, I'm looking for some blossoms. I was going to give them to you." Bull's eye. Ino's cheeks flushed pink while the young shadow manipulator paced around the shop. There were flowers in vases, flowers in pots, even flowers in cups all over the store. He was surprised the blonde and her mom didn't use buckets to hold the fragile plants. Well, scratch that, since there in fact _was _a bucket full of flowers. Shikamaru stopped and crouched by the collection of simple daisies within a freezer, or whatever florists called them these days.

"Those aren't for sale." He looked up to see Ino pointing at the newly opened buds. His hand reached forward to touch the soft, white petals.

"My mother is keeping them."

"Oh." Shikamaru stood back up.

"Well, I wasn't going to buy you a flower anyways. Too much work." He flashed her a 'whatever' smirk. To his surprise, the blonde caught it and just stuck out her tongue.

"Your loss!" Shikamaru nearly fell over laughing at her childish antics. Well, not actually, but he was really amused.

"So, what _are_ you doing here? I mean no offense, but you never were keen with flowers." That was certainly true. Nara Shikamaru never cared much for flowers. Allergies could do that to a person.

But, when he saw the little white daisies, he couldn't help but _remember_.

"_Why are you looking at it like that?" Shikamaru went to sit next to Temari, his features filled with curiosity. His pupils watered from his close proximity to the weed, while two fingers rubbed at his already itchy eyes. They were seated on the dusty Suna ground, the sand whipping through the air and further initiating his elephant sneezes. Yet, his companion scoffed, flicking loose strands of blond off of her face._

"_I'll have you know flowers like this are rare in Suna. There's usually not enough rain and too much sun."_ _She stroked the blossom lightly with the tip of her finger; the younger man frowned at her response._

"_You seem especially fond of this type though." The scowl on the blonde's face softened into a bittersweet smile._

"_It was my mother's favorite."_

"My friend likes them."

Ino studied her past teammate with calculating eyes. Something has changed in her friend, she decided. He seemed a lot less cynical, yet he bore more strangeness than before. She wasn't sure she liked it.

"Shikamaru…" He averted his gaze from the plant to meet hers. The blonde just sighed before smiling once more.

"Let's go meet up with Chouji. We need to have a welcome-home celebration for you anyways." A huge grin spread across her face.

"That's so troublesome." He watched as her grin instantly faded before deciding to add to his comment.

"…But, I have nothing else better to do." His words caused Ino to beam once more.

"I was about to say! If you were going to decline on us again I would have bound you and dragged your lazy ass to the barbeque hut! I'm sure Chouji would help me, he ALWAYS helps me. Sometimes, I think he's nicer than you…" Shikamaru was no longer listening to the blonde's never ending chatter. He walked out of the store with the young woman while she yelled over to her mother about her participation in the welcome-home party and to leave the dishes; she would wash them later when she came home. To which, surprisingly, the pleasant older woman agreed.

"So how was Suna? Did that sand nin give you any trouble?" Shikamaru half-snorted and half choked on his spit. He gave the blonde a strange, distant look before turning away.

"You have no idea."

.:.

* * *

Not long after they departed from the flower shop, Ino and Shikamaru bumped into Chouji on the streets.

"Chouji! There you are!" The blonde brushed off dust from her top.

"Hey there Chouji."

"Shikamaru! You're back!" The chubby ninja greeted his old teammate with a flashing grin. And then…his belly rumbled.

"Eheheh…I'm kinda hungry. You guys don't mind if I ran to a restaurant now, do ya?" Ino shook her head.

"Jeez Chouji, starving again?" Shikamaru snickered.

"Sorry Ino! Can't help it really…"

"Yea, well you're lucky we're going to celebrate Shikamaru's return to Konoha right now." Akimichi Chouji nearly bounced into the sky.

"Are you serious? We're gonna go eat? Oh boy, oh _boy! _Meat!" A giggle escaped from Ino's lips as Shikamaru just sighed contently. This was the old team. This was good.

The trio ran to the village's best barbeque shack… well really it was Chouji running and the other two chasing said boy, but who's to argue?

"Wait up dummy!" Ino could not believe such a heavy person could sprint nearly a hundred miles per hour. She glanced behind to see a yawning Shikamaru walking after them.

"Running after a living stomach…how troublesome." She heard him mutter.

Yup, this definitely was the old team again.

* * *

.:.

"Did you see that?"

"See what, Tsunade-sama?" The old lady with the pigtails' eyes twinkled.

"How that Nara boy reacted."

"You can make just as much anyone shake in their boots when you're mad."

"I wasn't mad. Just irritated." A giggle left the mouth of the dark haired woman.

"Yea, well tell that to poor Shikamaru-kun. He seemed really shaken out." The hokage just lay back in her chair, hands folded behind her head. With that, Shizune decided to press forward.

"I wonder, would he actually write that mission report?" The blond woman just snorted.

"Knowing him, he'd probably finish it before going to bed. Such a shame, really." Shizune broke into a smile, chuckling for the second time in a minute.

"What's so funny?" Blondie was met by an amused stare from the younger woman.

"What you did in the morning, the thing with your eyelids…that was pretty rude." Another giggle escaped from the brunette's lips. Tsunade merely scoffed in her chair.

"I was just concerned. Usually, I only see such dark circles on Gaara." A tinkle of bells.

"What are you on, some funny drug?" To which Shizune shook her head reassuringly.

"No, but I think Shikamaru-kun would want some."

"That boy." A frown suddenly appeared on the Godaime's mouth. "He's more cloudy-headed than usual." Her fingers played with the knots in her hair.

"I wonder why," she thought out loud.

* * *

It wasn't everyday that Shikamaru could spend a normal afternoon with his closest teammates. He being the only chuunin and all granted that he took very different missions than the other two. While Ino and Chouji were stuck with rescuing Fluffy out of a tree, the laziest member of team Asuma was busy body guarding merchants from bandits and low leveled shinobi.

It really was a horribly boring life.

Not that Shikamaru minded. He was content with his busy, dull existence. At least his missions weren't as dreary as the other two's. Although our young shadow manipulator _did _miss being able to lie down in a field of fresh green grass and wonder what shapes the puffy white clouds above were forming…

_'Oh shit. The report!'_ It was half past one in the morning and Shikamaru still hadn't written that stupid essay. It wasn't like he lied about the meetings. They just weren't the type the normal bunch would find, well, _normal_.

He scrambled out of the chair he was currently sitting on, half clad in his pajamas while he searched his desk for paper and writing utensils. His usually neat handwriting came out as cavemen scrawls on a piece of paper.

_Team: Nara Shikamaru and Temari_

He just realized he didn't know the girl's surname.

_Mission__ type: Diplomatic_

_Date:_

Well, that wasn't really important. _'Just as long as I write about the mission.'_

_Time: four months_

_Entry:_

_I met up with the kunoichi from Suna, Temari. We left for hidden sand in a hurry._

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed while he tried to remember everything that happened.

_When we arrived at Suna, she took off telling me she had some unexpected business to settle. I rented a room from an inn with some money she gave me._

His scribbling became chicken scratch.

_The next morning, I found her by the foot of my bed with a strange look on her face. It turns out that the 'unexpected business' was a rogue ninja that somehow entered the village. She and a couple of Jonin took him out before I fell asleep._

A low yawn escaped from his lips.

_I was brought before the Suna council where I had to swear the validity of my village of origin. It took a while, but I was eventually welcomed into the village hidden in the sand._

_Temari was a kind guide, giving me tours of the whole village. I was surprised by their way of living; not a single tree was in sight._

The clock struck ten to two.

_The sand nin Temari showed me the culture of the Suna people. I was introduced to new foods such as pickled salamander _– Shikamaru shuddered at the thought – _which strangely tasted of old beef jerky. I was told to sit in their Ninja academy for a day. It's with great shock that I must say this, that the kids there looked way younger than six. Perhaps they are training the young at younger ages?_

He crossed out the last sentence, before circling it and crossing it out again.

_After that, I was to have tea with the jonin when your messenger hawk found me._

What next? There was nothing left to write, Shikamaru decided. He took a few minutes to reread what he wrote before slipping into bed.

It was probably as well that he didn't mention his midnight escapades to his guide's bedroom.

It was strange, he decided, how he first began to do this.

_The wind blew too loudly by his window, so loud that he couldn't sleep._

_Shikamaru slid out of his bed before smoothing the wrinkles on his shirt. He thought about shutting the glass, but that would just make his apartment hot and sweaty. Instead, the strategic genius of Konoha hopped out of his room through the window, the wind blowing tuffs of brown out of his ponytail._

_He didn't know where he was going at first. The dark night sky and the round, round moon calmed him down significantly, and he lay is body to rest on the rooftop shingles of the inn._

_At the corner of his eyes he spotted a figure moving in the streets, barely making a sound on the dusty pavement. He rolled his body over to the edge of the roof, brown orbs studying the movement of the person._

_It was Temari._

_Under normal circumstances, Shikamaru would have rolled back on his back, enjoying the cool breeze of the desert air. However, sleep deprivation and boredom urged him to follow the sand kunoichi, and he dragged his body up to prepare for a leap._

_The shadow manipulator trailed after Temari, curiosity and something else swimming in his stomach. He wasn't sure what that something was, and he didn't feel like finding out._

_He stopped hurdling over rooftops when he saw her slowing down her walk in front of a huge estate. An eyebrow lifted when he witnessed the blonde leaping into a window, not bothering to close the entrance to her room._

_He watched as she disappeared into the back, a light flickering in a corner. Perhaps a candle? Shikamaru would never know._

_For some reason, he decided to find out, and he traveled closer to her window. There was a balcony, he noticed. And next to the balcony was a tree. _

_This was the only tree he had seen since his arrival to Suna. It surprised him that he hadn't spotted the large plant only moments before. He crouched by the branch as his eyes searched for the source of light._

_Suddenly, he could see Temari walk back into the bedroom. Shikamaru ducked, hoping the sand kunoichi wouldn't see him and forcibly castrate him in the process. Luckily for him, said young woman was busy looking for something. Her search ended in front of a brilliantly crafted dresser, her fingers slightly grazing over the hand-scrawled designs on the wood. The younger teen's eyes could only widen as he saw her pull out a white nightgown._

_Shikamaru felt as if he should run back to his room now, shut the door, and forget everything he'd done. But his eyes wouldn't move as the kunoichi slipped out of her dark yukata and wriggle into the white robes._

_His heart rate only quickened as she pulled out something from her old clothes…a kunai perhaps? He didn't think so but the bright glint from moonlight hitting steel said otherwise. Just as it seemed she was about to fall asleep, the blinds shut close, nearly giving Shikamaru a heart attack. Had she seen? He really hoped she didn't._

_With nothing left to do, Shikamaru returned to his bedroom, goose bumps still present on his skin from what he just saw._

_Unknown to the brunet, his midnight encounter with the Suna kunoichi wouldn't be his last._

Shikamaru groaned before hitting his head on his pillow. Just six more hours before he had to present his crummy report.

.:.

Second chapter and it's already a bit longer! I was hoping for a teensy more reviews, but I'm happy with the ones I'm getting (You guys are THE best!)

I already have an idea of how I'm going to compose the romance… it's just the tiny details I need to worry about. Next chapter would probably be up in a few days, but be warned 'cause I'm cursed with the writer's block more than any other person in the world! (Ok, not really {; )

And of course, don't forget to review!


	3. Part One: Instances III

I Sit by Your Window

Summary: It was a mistake; that was really all there was to it. Once Shikamaru misguidedly followed Temari back to her estate, nothing was to be the same.

_I decided to write this chapter a little differently. After rereading the others, I noticed that my writing was increasingly dull, too full of unnecessary descriptions that just bore one to tears. I hope by switching it up a bit I could put a little life into the fic. As always, enjoy!_

.:.

* * *

It was eight in the morning and the birds were chirp chirping like the programmed machines they were. Shikamaru could hardly get out of bed, having only slept three hours after writing his report, the other three spent sitting on the toilet.

Constipation, he decided, was the next thing closest to death.

He didn't forget about handing in the essay though. Hell, when Tsunade shot you a crazy look like that, there was no _tomorrow_ in forgetting.

So when he dropped a paper ball on the hokage's desk, he could only hope for the best.

"What is this?" inquired a (slightly) pissed Tsunade. The teen just smiled bashfully before speaking.

"My report. Umm…I kinda crumbled it." A delicate blond brow carefully lifted.

"I can see that. Is that…is this _gum_ on the front?"

Shikamaru snatched the paper from the hokage's hands. His eyes widened when he saw a chunk of Wrigley's bubble gum smashed in a corner.

'_Whoah, I don't remember chewing that.'_

To which Tsunade shot him an incredulous look. Strangely though, he just swallowed his spit while tapping his finger on the desk absentmindedly.

"Shikamaru!" His head instantly shot up. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, a kind of dazed look spread on his face.

"Sorry…"

"You've been really rusty lately. Your oral reports suck and your written ones might as well be toilet paper." She pointed at his latest hand scribbled account.

"_This_ _one_ looks like a cat ate it and spat it out as a hairball." The teen flinched as the powerful (man-woman) blonde grabbed the crumpled paper and threw it at his chest.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shikamaru just seemed to notice the dark haired lady, a look of extreme regret plastered all over her face. Or was it constipation? Shikamaru would never know.

"Relax, Shizune. He's not going to die from a paper ball."

"Report." He muttered to himself.

"What?"

"I said, I had a wart." Tsunade looked at him like he was crazy; he instinctively brought a hand up to his face. "A little to the left." Congratulations, boy. You had a zit as big as Mount Everest.

She cleared her throat before continuing to speak.

"Anyways, before this little pep talk took off, there's been increased activity at our borders." The teen's eyes narrowed.

"Increased? By how much?"

"Let's just say more than we'd usually like."

"Please, take a seat," the older lady said, pointing to an empty chair across from her desk. Funny, Shikamaru hadn't noticed it until recently.

He pulled the chair over and sat his (ass) bottom on the seat.

"I want you and the rest of team ten to go to Bird Country and check out what's been causing all the buzz. You have a deadline of two months and I hope you can at least come up with two paragraphs on the written this time." He blinked while his mind started registering the facts.

"Wait…Bird Country's currently in a civil war. Which part –?"

"The part closest to Konoha, of course." She laid two hands on top of the flat of her desk. Then, bit by bit, she slid a hand into a drawer and pulled out something. She placed the slug figurine on the table.

"Take this and show it to the guards. They should be located in the capital, for some stupid reason…" She seemed lost in her thoughts.

"Well, carry on." She suddenly snapped out of her stupor. Shikamaru had only turned to leave when the hokage spoke again.

"Oh yea, and no foreign relationships." He instantly froze in place.

"W-what?" Tsunade picked at her nail nonchalantly.

"No foreign relationships. It would only cause trouble between nations. It's against shinobi law, though I must admit it's quite tacky." The hokage's assistant giggled in the background.

"Foreign men are most…exotic." More giggles.

Shikamaru could only stare in disbelief before exiting the room.

"Tsunade-sama, was that necessary?"

"What was necessary?" Amber orbs twinkled in amusement.

"You reminding him of that stupid rule." The hokage merely shrugged before slumping into her chair.

"Eh, well I figured he needed something to jog his memory. We send him left and right into Suna…don't want to take any precautions."

"Besides," Tsunade positioned herself so she could stare at the ceiling. "He's fourteen. You know teenage boys. Before you know it it'll be Attack of the Hormones all over again."

­­­­.:.

* * *

"Whoa, what's eating you?" The young shadow manipulator sighed before picking up the thing he 'dropped'.

'_Yea, and the moon's made of cheese.'_

Ino raised her brow slightly before speaking up.

"So, when do we have to leave for Fish City again?"

"Bird Country," reminded Chouji.

"Yea, yea, Turd County, my bad." She stuck out her tongue at him and for a second she thought he took a few steps backwards.

"What?" growled an annoyed Yamanaka.

"You guys are embarrassing sometimes." The Nara kicked a pebble with his shoe.

The rest of team ten just stared when Shikamaru let go of a particularly long yawn.

"We should leave tomorrow. I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"There's two months to complete the mission though," the Akimichi wondered out loud. "That's more than enough time to 'figure out what the buzz is'."

"What are you suggesting?" sniffed a still-annoyed Ino. "Tsunade-sama wants us out of Konoha?" She blinked before jabbing a pale finger accusingly at the chubby ninja.

"It's probably your fault! You said you wanted to _barbeque_ her pet pig."

"I did not!" retorted an equally annoyed Chouji. "I only said fried."

"Stop it you guys, you're giving me a migraine," snapped Shikamaru. Said teen brought a slightly calloused hand up to his forehead. Stupid headache caught back up with him. "It's like you guys want to burst my head open or something…"

He spread a piece of parchment on the forest floor after brushing off dead leaves and sticks first. With two hands he pried the scroll apart, his eyes roaming across the face of the paper. His eyes stopped at a light green line squiggling across the far left of the scroll.

"What's this?" inquired Ino. She reached to touch the bumpy parchment when Shikamaru suddenly pulled out a pen.

"It's a map." He pointed the writing utensil at the same green line, rubbing the metal tip over the blotched ink almost distractedly. "That's the border."

"We're heading there?" piped a certain Akimichi. His eyes widened like he suddenly noticed something.

"That looks like a bird!" Ino and Shikamaru both sweat dropped into the ground.

"Umm, yea. That's why they call it Bird Country." Shikamaru squinted tightly, his pupils making out an outline of a wing near the green line. He tapped the tip of the pen on a small red dot within the wing.

"That's where we're going first," he breathed. "We need to inform them that the Hokage's ninja squad had turned up. That way we won't have the inconvenience of getting caught and spending nights in a jail when we could have just told them we arrived."

"Smart!" praised Ino. "What would we do without a lazy genius you?" He met her with a grin, before turning to smile at Chouji. The chubby ninja only blinked in confusion. Ino saw this, and gave him a poke in the ribs.

"What's wrong Chouji? You look like you just swallowed a rock." Chouji scratched his head before laughing nervously.

"I just don't get it. Why would the guys from Bird Country even let us enter their borders? Do we have like an alliance with them or something?"

"It's probably because they're having troubles within their borders too." Shikamaru rolled the piece of parchment up again. "We're like a free clean up patrol." But, Chouji wasn't satisfied.

"Why would they believe us? Do we have like a scroll saying we're the ninja Tsunade-sama sent?" The Nara boy smiled crookedly.

"Nope." Chouji was crestfallen.

"But, we do have _this_." He pulled out the small slug statue and waved it a little too earnestly at his teammates. Ino scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Ew…that looks gross."

"Is that a leach?" asked Akimichi Chouji while he proceeded to poke it with a branch.

"Stop that," scolded an irritated Shikamaru. He placed the figurine back into his pockets before elaborating further.

"It's Tsunade-sama's slug stamp. This _shows_ we're from her 'cause she's the only one who has one."

"We meet at the outer gates at six."

With that, team ten stood up, before parting to their separate ways.

It was while the Nara boy brushed off a few leaves on his bum, though, when he heard a shrill yell addressing him.

"Don't forget to sleep tonight!" It was Ino.

When Shikamaru finally arrived home, he found to his displeasure remnants of two dark circles around his eyes.

.:.

* * *

The night ended abruptly and team ten was forced to meet up by the outer gates. It was six in the morning, the tell-tale mark of dawn rising swiftly across the skies. The young Nara broke into a stretch when he heard a rustle through the thicket.

"Relax Shikamaru. It's only us."

Shikamaru turned to see a yawning Ino dragging a snoring Chouji on her back. Her hair was in disarray, with loose strands of blond sticking out from her scalp. And her top seemed oddly ruffled. He realized it was on backwards when the blonde dropped hold of the heavy boy and started turning around in her shirt.

"What happened to you?"

"_Not a morning person…"_ was her muffled reply.

A gentle breeze swept past the sleepy members of team ten. He could feel his heart soaring somehow; the thought of leaving Konoha seemed to lift weights off his chest. Two shinobi standing guard by the door stepped aside as the trio walked through. Ino sent them a nod before dragging Chouji out of Konoha.

It was six thirty am and it was already starting to show. The east corner of Konoha was illuminated with sunshine while the other sides were still engulfed in shadow. Shikamaru and company descended into the thicket; the pointy shrubs and sharp branches of over hanging trees roughly woke the chubby ninja.

"Enghh…where am I?" Ino snorted.

"Finally you're awake. You know how hard and how much of a workout it would have been dragging your butt out of bed if I wasn't a kunoichi?" scolded the infuriated blonde. "_Very_ hard."

"Cut it out you two." Snapped Shikamaru. "I'm tired enough as it is." He shot his gaze at the surrounding foliage, looking for any landmark features that would help him pinpoint their location.

He spotted a stream, strangely flowing upwards towards the mountain. He unrolled the map and looked for any small inked crevice on the parchment. His eyes singled out a thin squiggle on the map. The thicker green line was just above this stroke.

"We have to follow this stream due north," he explained. As the brunet placed the map back into his pockets he could have sworn he heard a cracked branch.

"Guys?"

"Y-yea?" Ino heard it too, it seemed. She flashed her teammates a look and the two boys just nodded slightly.

"Let's go up the mountain."

The trio hiked up the forest terrain, stopping only for a few short moments to catch their breaths. With each passing hour the dread of something following them resurfaced in their minds, no matter how many futile attempts there were in pushing the thought back. However, they continued their trek until team ten finally resided at the base of the mountain. And besides this jagged mass of rock was a cave.

Ino eyed the dark cavern with indignity.

"In there?" The chubby ninja gave one glance at the hole in the mountain before shuddering.

"It's…kinda dark, eh Shikamaru?" Said boy just shrugged before walking into the entrance. The blonde's lip quivered though she grabbed the Akimichi and stomped after the brunet.

"How troublesome, roaming in a deep, dark, dirty cave."

His words only served to intensify her fear, but she followed him anyway.

If Chouji strained his ears, he could hear the drip-drop noises echoing in the empty cave. Well, at least he _hoped_ it was empty. He almost felt jealous of how his teammate took the matter so lightly, just walking into the dark abyss with his hands folded behind his head.

And then, Ino heard the pita-pat of nearby footsteps behind them.

* * *

You must be thinking, 'what the hell, I don't know what just happened!' Well, neither do I!

…

Ok, just kidding, I do. Basically, they're being followed, for all you dum-dums out there :B OH, and I started a new fic, it's gaahina so it's GOOD. Yea, I am so advertising my other story right now.

Until next time!

Next chapter: The follower(s) is (are) revealed: The truth about the mission.


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